Our native chokeberries are underused shrubs, but they are one of the best for winter interest in the garden. Red chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) and black chokeberry (A. ...
Hoosier Gardener
August plant of the month: Japanese anemone
Japanese anemone (A. huphensis) populates the garden with beautiful flowers atop wiry stems from mid- to late summer. The first one I planted was ‘September Charm’ because ...
July plant of the month: Smooth hydrangea
Among the gazillion hydrangeas on the market, our native smooth hydrangea (H. arborescens) remains the most reliable bloomer in our Indiana garden. This year, all hydrangeas have ...
June Plant of the Month: Hosta
Most of us know that hostas grow best in shade. Between us, even those labeled as sun-loving, get fried by the end of summer when planted in full sun. My argument is there are ...
The trouble with roses 1
Questions about sick roses continue to fill my inbox and the aisles of garden centers. Many roses, including the tough-as-nails Knock Outs, did not rebound after our brutal ...
The trouble with roses 2
As rose troubles continue to plague gardeners, we will look this week at a few more common problems. Last week, we covered black spot, anthracnose, rose mosaic virus and rose ...
May Plant of the Month: Fothergilla
Some plants are nearly perfect and fothergilla is one of them. I’ve grown two Fothergilla gardenii – ‘Blue Mist’ and the species. The first one was ‘Blue Mist’, a dwarf ...
Plant of the Month: Columbine
Frankly, it’s hard to see or hear the word columbine without remembering the deadly shooting in Colorado in 1999. Rather, I like to think of columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) as ...
Plant of the Month: Potato
Potatoes are easy to grow in the ground or in grow bags like Smart Pots. What we plant is called a seed potato. It looks like a regular potato, with eyes and everything. These seed ...
Plant of the Month: Epimedium
As I write this, it’s -3 degrees with a wind chill of about -15 degrees. This unseasonably freezing weather mid-January puts a lot of our garden plants to the test. One that scores ...